Iran has offered Trump an 'off-ramp' from war, and there's growing speculation he might take it

Anti-war protesters outside the White House

(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)

published 8 January 2020

Fears (and in some quarters, hopes) that self-styled "counterpuncher" President Trump would effectively declare war on Iran after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops Tuesday evening slowly abated as the tense night wore on. The White House announced Trump wouldn't make any official statement Tuesday, the U.S. military said there appeared to be no U.S. casualties, a grammatically correct tweet from Trump's account proclaimed "all is well!" with the Iran situation, and news emerged from Iran that it considered the missile strikes just revenge for the U.S. killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.